Question 82 from UPSC CSE 2024 - Current Affairs (Art & Culture)

Question

Which one of the following was the latest inclusion in the Intangible Cultural Heritage List of UNESCO?

IASCODEX · Accepted Answer

Correct Option: C. Garba dance

Strategy: Focus on the timing of UNESCO list inclusions by identifying the most recently recognized cultural element. The question requires recalling the chronological order of Indian additions. Garba was added after Durga Puja and other elements, confirming it as the latest inclusion.

Key Info: ## UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) List

UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) List seeks to safeguard practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, and skills recognized by communities as part of their cultural heritage.

- **Garba**: A traditional dance from Gujarat, Garba is performed in groups as part of the Navratri festival, symbolizing feminine divinity and community bonding. In December 2023, Garba was inscribed in UNESCO's ICH list, making it the most recent Indian cultural tradition to be included.

- **Durga Puja**: This major festival from West Bengal was inscribed in UNESCO's ICH list in 2021. It encompasses rituals, arts, crafts, and collective worship, reflecting the city's ethos and the celebration of feminine divinity.

- **Kumbh Mela**: Recognized in 2017, Kumbh Mela is one of the world's largest religious gatherings, cyclically held at four river-bank pilgrimage sites in India, involving ritual bathing and cultural performances.

- **Chhau Dance**: This semi-classical Indian dance with martial, tribal, and folk origins from eastern India (Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand) was added to the UNESCO ICH list in 2010.

UNESCO's ICH listings aim to recognize and safeguard living cultural expressions. India, with its vast cultural diversity, has multiple entries, each representing a unique tradition, festival, or performing art.

IASCODEX · Answer

Option A: Chhau dance

IASCODEX · Answer

Option B: Durga Puja

IASCODEX · Answer

Option D: Kumbh Mela